Device farms are a great testing alternative because they streamline application and software development processes. They are efficient, cost-effective, and highly scalable, whether built in-house or from a third-party provider.
What is a device farm?
Device farms are cloud-based testing environments that enable developers to remotely test the performance of their software and mobile products on many mobile devices.
Device farms cover tests on all the different configurations, environments, conditions, and available combinations of browsers, operating systems, and devices. This lets device farms allow developers to identify functionality, adaptability, performance, and design issues by checking their products in action from the end-users perspective.
With a device farm, companies do not have to guess the problems that can occur or improvise any part of their testing strategy. They can just run their code on an actual device, judge its performance, and obtain accurate results on their tests.
What are the advantages of a cloud-based device farm?
Some of the advantages of using a cloud-based device farm for mobile testing include:
- It is easy to use and helps companies increase their platform testing coverage by providing a wide range of devices.
- It can assist QA (quality assurance) engineers in testing the application’s operability from the end-user perspective.
- It provides access to testing environments from any part of the world and any timezone, thus creating an ideal platform for offshore development teams.
- It is significantly less expensive than having an in-house device lab.
- It offers unmatched scalability for tests.
- It provides companies with the option of using built-in test suites.
- There are no overhead costs if companies purchase a cloud-based device farm.
- Most device farms provide access to modern and legacy versions of operating systems and many device models and manufacturers, including outdated ones.
- Companies can test many devices without purchasing them, hire data plans, implement infrastructure, or manage hardware.
What are the disadvantages of a device farm?
There are many drawbacks and critical components that cloud-based device farms lack. Some of them include:
- Companies working with a cloud-based device farm will hire a third-party service provider. Therefore, they must purchase a plan and depend on the vendor for updates and bug fixing.
- Sometimes, vendors lag on updating devices. So companies will have to wait or work with what vendors offer.
- Companies must wait longer to access some devices if they choose a favoured vendor.
- Companies can face security issues with device farms if they do not correctly address them.
- Some vendors do not offer test reporting.
Conclusion
There are many efficient ways for a company to test their application. The chosen method may depend entirely on the application’s specifications and development needs. Device farms are one of the most cost-effective and professional solutions enabling automated testing across various devices. Using them alone or in combination with other testing methods can significantly impact the quality of the product companies deliver. Device farms may also make the testing processes faster, more accessible, accurate, and affordable.
Reference link:
http://www.foonkiemonkey.co.uk/device-farms-an-alternative-for-efficient-app-testing/
